Supervulkan

Why can't something like this be in theaters? Supervolcano was better than most disaster movies out there. It certainly beat out Dante's Peak and Volcano due to its scientific accuracy and the fact that it can actually happen. The visual effects were outstandingly realistic. "10.5" and "The Core" looked like low-budget indie films compared to Supervolcano. Plus, it was filmed like a real movie and not in that annoying "24" style. The performances were very convincing and there was a connection felt to the characters. Bring on the movies, Discovery Channel! Documentaries are no longer the best thing you have going for you now, so don't stop!

As my job is to deal with the emergencies in disaster situations, I had found many studies regarding volcanic eruptions. At that time I hadn't seen the BBC's Supervolcano. As I found this title in my local DVD store I thought "it worths the try".

Finally, when the movie ended, I was really thrilled by what it was presented in this docu-drama film. Not the best disaster movie but far more the most realistic in all levels. The visuals were OK (its a TV miniseries so it is very impressive), direction was very good, focusing in the realistic scientific data and the people that would deal with this disaster. The most impressive about this film was that the details regarding the response were actually what all the protocols in disaster relief are predicting. Very good technical background and good study by the writer and director on how people do really react or what is their responsibility when a disaster like this is imminent and finally is evolving to a real catastrophe. Those people like the Rick or Wuendy (the FEMA woman) are really those that will decide eventually whether the impact of the disaster will be total or some lives can be actually saved. (In this point the script is great when Wendy says about the President of USA and the invasion in Mexico...perfect notation!!) Offcourse there were some small "I have seen and heard it before" moments but ID4 and the Day After Tomorrow was full of them.

As a movie, Supervolcano could easily stand in the theaters and I do hope that BBC will release a more detailed theatrical version with better CGI effects and more elaborated performances and additional footage. Imagine the sound when Mount Norris explodes in the theater with DTS or THX sound effect.

Anyway! It is a good material. People that are working in the field of Disaster Managment should see it, cause it gives a good point of view on what happens when a disaster of this magnitude actually occurs. And off course, it will happen in Yellowstone or elsewhere.

Thumbs up!! KIRKAN

SUPERVOLCANO

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Sound format: Dolby Digital

(2 episodes)

The 'true' story of an impending super-eruption beneath Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming which will bury 80% of the United States under clouds of choking dust and plunge the entire world into a devastating volcanic winter for years to come.

Based on meticulous research conducted over an eight-month period, this frightening drama commercializes a scenario first outlined in a documentary screened by the BBC in 2002, which drew the world's attention to a timebomb beneath Yellowstone Park. Characterizations are minimal (Michael Riley and Scottish actor Gary Lewis play concerned scientists forced to confront the reality of an impending disaster, only to meet opposition by government personnel eager to prevent mass panic), but scriptwriter Edward Canfor-Dumas describes the timeline of events with startling clarity, mixing narrative and science in an effort to 'sell' the material to the broadest possible audience.

Conceived and executed in the manner of a Hollywood movie, this TV special develops a fair head of steam - counting down to calamity via a series of tell-tale 'warning signs', including earthquakes and violent geyser eruptions - before The Big One explodes in a welter of CGI effects. Such material illustrates the size and horror of the Yellowstone disaster with shocking realism, but the aftermath (in which planet-wide snowfall causes massive disruption to daily life, food shortages and death on an industrial scale) is described with unseemly haste, and the end product feels strangely unfinished. Still, as a means of alerting the world to this imminent catastrophe (which could occur at any moment during the next 100,000 years), SUPERVOLCANO is pretty hard to beat. Sobering stuff, originally broadcast in two parts, directed by Tony Mitchell.

Not bad at all for a made-for-television disaster movie. Great not so famous cast with excellent acting. This movie depicts the events of an eruption of a supervolcano beneath Yellowstone Park. For those who don't know the difference between a volcano and a supervolcano - and missed the movie: A supervolcano is basically a huge hole in the ground, 30 to 50 miles wide, with a huge lava chamber under pressure, many many times larger than a typical volcano. No one alive has ever witnessed a supervolcanic eruption. The last one was TOBA in Sumatra about 80,000 years ago, which almost wiped out humans. A supervolcanic eruption would do to the planet what an asteroid would do if it were to strike earth. There's even some who believe all the earthquake activity in the Sumatra area may be the supervolcano there yawning and getting ready to wake up. Hmmm, a sequel movie? This was a great flick, fun to watch. Well made with special effects you might not expect in a TV movie. Way to go Discovery Channel!

The recent spate of educational, high budget, what if documentaries has culminated in what can basically be said as a Hollywood blockbuster with BBC values. Showing off special effect that although are impressive for a British TV program still look 5 years behind current technology. (Resident Evil anyone?) This said the interjection of fictional experts telling us directly what the science is behind the program and what we can expect is refreshing and is not patronising or smack in the face obvious as some of todays blockbusters. (Inderpendance Day, The Day After Tomorrow) The characters were at first were less stereotypical than the average but ultimately also less interesting although some great acting and casting all round. (I swear half the guest stars of Stargate SG1 appeared throughout the program) The main problem with Supervolcano and the thousands of what-could-happen-in-your-future docu-dramas is that the sheer amount of them conveys a sense that Armageddon can happen any second, especially with Smallpox 2001, The Day Britain Stood Still and any Horizon episode ever made. This leads the validity of the threat (in this case a bloody giant magma core underneath Yellowstone National Park) to be underplayed even if it is based on researched factual events.